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Friday, August 9, 2013

As The Steam/GOG Turns #6: The Calm Before the Storm Edition

Welcome back to As The Steam/GOG Turns, the continuing story of two competing digital distribution services that compete for everyone's attention.

This week is really the calm before the storm. Next week we have a TON of games coming out, and once the rain starts coming, it's going to pour. But that doesn't mean this week's releases are slouches by any stretch of the imagination. Not whatsoever.

First, I want to talk a little bit about what I've been playing. I haven't really been playing that much really on Steam and GOG, I've been playing more on my iPhone... again. I'll talk about this one a bit later but I've been playing a TON of the new Wits & Wagers Trivia Party app that dropped this past week and it is very, very fun, and any trivia nuts should get it.

So, now on to the releases. The Steam and GOG dual releases this week are pretty good, there are no GOG-only releases, and there is one Steam-only release worth noting. It'll certainly start getting really interesting next week, but I am very excited to see what happens in the next month or two, but my wallet is NOT anticipating that very highly, believe me.

The first Steam/GOG dual release is Divinity: Dragon Commander. It's a mix of the Total War games, a good RTS game, and a high fantasy game. It's great! You can even make crucial decisions that make each playthrough very, very different. It's fabulous! The price, however, is not so fabulous. $40 is quite the price to pay, so unless you want to buy a game like this full price, wait till it's on sale.

The second dual release is Papers, Please, the highly buzzed-about game about making decisions at an immigration agency, much like Ellis Island and that ilk for persons who came to America by boat long before our current immigration discussion. It has sprites that look like those from the Carmen Sandiego games, and that makes me super happy so get it! And I think it's even $10, so you have no excuse not to get it if you like those kinds of games.

The third and final dual release (and the final GOG release this week) is the highly-praised indie game Spelunky! Spelunky looks really, really good, and it unfortunately is $15, but if you like indie games, then you go ahead and pick this up. No excuses, you guys.

The one Steam-only release and the final release I want to talk about this week is Guacamelee! Gold Edition. This game is a crazy mashup of Super Metroid and Mexican luchador wrestling, and it's been out on the consoles for awhile and it is finally making its way to the PC. If you want another copy of this game, or if you didn't get a chance to play it on the consoles, then pick this sucker up. Another indie game you should pick up at full price, or if it's on sale, even for 10%, pick it up.

So, that does it for this week. And until next time, the Steam/GOG conflict ever turns...